Patry Francis writes a chameleon of a book. It begins like women's fiction: shy school secretary Jeanne's life is shook up by the new music teacher--an intriguing, beautiful artist named Ali. The story's opening pace is slow, like Jeanne's life at that point, bouncing gently from her job to her roles as doctor's wife and mother to Jamie, a 16 year-old boy who is popular, but overweight. Jamie's the light of Jeanne's life and the tension between father, mother and son are just the usual adolescent tension, isn't it? Just as the reader is lulled by the somewhat sinister lullabye of the opening chapters, violence erupts. Like Jeanne, the reader is suddenly on a roller coaster with stomach-dropping turns. The physical locations may be an idyllic suburb and a remote cabin in New Hampshire, but prepare to also travel deep into Jeanne's psyche.--Jenny H.
Request The Liar's Diary from the Saint Paul Public Library.
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